Shatner casts his voice into river of debate over Pacific salmon farming

Gloria Galloway
June 11, 2010
The Globe and Mail

As Captain Kirk, he often lectured his crew to respect life and not to take things for granted. So it seemed appropriate, if a tad surreal, to hear William Shatner lecture reporters on the importance of salmon to British Columbia’s ecosystem.

“Salmon feed and nurture not only the animals that are on the land but the sea as well, and the plants and trees and shrubbery,” the 79-year-old actor’s disembodied voice told a news conference Thursday that had been organized by the New Democrats.

“The fauna and the flora of the British Columbia river shores and rivers are nurtured by the salmon. Without the salmon, they die. And when they die, [there is] a huge rent in the tapestry of nature in that area. It is a basic species that must be saved.”

Mr. Shatner called into the event from Los Angeles and did not take any questions after his five-minute speech about the fish. But he made an impassioned appeal for their protection.

The purpose of the news conference was to highlight a private-member’s bill drafted by Fin Donnelly, a New Democrat from British Columbia, that would require the Pacific salmon-farming industry to move its operations out of coastal waters and into closed containment to prevent the spread of the sea lice that have been blamed for the decline of the species in the wild.

Read the full story in the Globe and Mail

Read related stories: 

• Metro; June 29th, 2010; NDP says bill could save B.C. salmon stocks"
• The Record; June 12th, 2010; "Shatner supports fish bill - actor help city MP fight to have fish farms moved onto land"
• National Post; June 11th, 2010; "Captain Kirk's new enterprise: protecting B.C.'s wild salmon population"
• The Vancouver Sun; June 11th, 2010; "Shatner makes plea for B.C.'s wild salmon population - Actor calls on Canadians to back new regulations on fish farm to prevent pathogen spread" 
• The Vancouver Sun; June 10th, 2010; "Kirk's new enterprise - saving B.C. salmon"
• Metro News; June 10th, 2010; "Shatner joins salmon fight"
• Winnipeg Sun; June 10th, 2010; "Save B.C.'s wild Salmon: William Shatner"